Cork crime: Men jailed for twice as long as women, court data over five years reveals

New analysis of Cork court data reveals stark differences in jail terms by gender, offence type, and addiction impact

Men were involved in 1,232 of the 1,400-plus cases where jail terms were imposed — representing 87% of all the court cases analysed. Picture: Irish Examiner Visual Media

Men accounted for 87% of jail terms analysed from the Cork courts over the last five years, averaging a 23-month sentence — just over twice as long as the average sentence imposed on women.

This is one of the key findings from a major analysis of thousands of court reports published in the Irish Examiner and The Echo between 2020 and 2024.

The data shows that, of the just over 1,400 cases where jail terms were imposed, men were involved in 1,232 of the cases — representing a total of 87% of all data analysed.

The average man sent to jail in that time was aged 34.

He was most likely to have been charged with theft, assault, public order, or drugs offences — which were mentioned in the vast majority of the jail terms. 

And he was most likely to be of no fixed address, or a resident of Cork Simon, or to have an address on the northside of the city.

Men by crime

This is one of the articles published in the 'Irish Examiner' in print and online here on Day 2 of the three-day Cork Crime series. 

The average woman jailed was also aged 34, with 61% of the cases analysed involving a sentence for theft. 

The average woman had previous related convictions, and was also most likely to be struggling with addiction, with alcohol or drugs mentioned in 52% of the cases.

Jail terms 

The average jail sentence handed down for a man was just over 23 months, over twice the average jail term imposed on women — most likely because men were involved in more serious types of crime.

Previous convictions were a factor in almost 67% of cases involving a woman, but they were a factor in 56% of the cases involving men.

Addiction affecting men and women alike 

Addiction issues were evenly spread between men and woman, the research found, with a mention of addiction, alcohol, or drugs in two thirds of the cases involving women, but in almost three quarters of the cases involving men.

A breakdown of the headline crimes for men and women reveals some interesting trends, with theft mentioned in almost two thirds of the jail sentences involving women, but in just over a quarter of the cases involving men.

Theft is women's top crime category

Women by crime

The top crime category for women was theft, which was mentioned in almost 61% of the jail sentences imposed, almost three times more than the next category — public order.

Public order was mentioned in a fifth of the cases involving women, with assault mentioned in 15% of the cases, followed by burglary and criminal damage tied in fourth place then drugs for personal use, road traffic offences, drugs for sale or supply, offences against the government or court, and dangerous driving.

Assault and public order offences

However, for men, while theft was also the most often mentioned offence, it was involved in just 27% of the cases, followed by assault, and then public order — a reverse of the second and third most frequently mentioned offences involving women.

Assault and public order were mentioned much more frequently in men’s jail terms — assault in just over a fifth of the cases analysed, with public order mentioned in almost 17% of the cases.

Combined, these three offences were mentioned in about half of all the sentences involving men, followed by drugs for sale or supply, weapons and explosives, burglary, criminal damage, drugs for personal use, offences against the government or the court, robbery, harassment, and dangerous driving.

For men, there were 34 sentences for murder attempts or threats, 18 sentences for rape, 14 sentences for negligence, eight life sentences for murder — almost three times the rate for women — eight sentences for child pornography, six for dangerous driving causing death, and five manslaughter sentences.

Women accounted for three life sentences handed down for murder during the period analysed.